bangladesh
Iranian President lauds Bangladesh's robust development
Newly-elected President of Iran Ayatollah Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi has appreciated the robust economic development of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam had a meeting with President Raisi on Friday that lasted for 20 minutes.
Read:Indian sends 30 ambulances to Bangladesh
Earlier, Alam who led a three-member Bangladesh delegation, attended the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected Iranian president.
During the meeting, the president of Iran recalled his visit to Bangladesh 20 years back, particularly mentioned about his visit to Jashore.
President Raisi expressed his gratitude to President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for congratulating him on his election as president.
‘Hiroshima Day' always reminds importance of peace: Envoy
Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Naoki Ito has said the “Hiroshima Day" will keep inspiring people, especially the young generation, to become aware of the atomic bomb tragedies and the importance of peace.
"I hope that we, the people of Japan and Bangladesh, stand together to make this world more peaceful and harmonious for all," he said in a message marking the day that falls on August 6.
Read:Over 1.6 million AstraZeneca doses received from Japan
Ambassador Ito said he genuinely appreciates Bangladeshi people who have shown sympathy to the victims and expressed compassionate views for world peace.
Today marks the 76th anniversary of the tragedy in Hiroshima, the day when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in 1945.
"Since I came to Bangladesh in October 2019, I’ve been touched to realize so many Bangladeshi people know about the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and devote themselves to advocacy for peace," said the Ambassador.
The atrocity of the atomic bomb and even SASAKI Sadako’s paper cranes are in the textbooks for elementary schools.
The Ambassador said he knows many Bangladeshi people commemorate the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th as Hiroshima Day.
Read: With eye on 3 SEZs, Japan wants to boost its investment in Bangladesh
"That compassion the citizens of Bangladesh shown to the tragedies in Japan means a lot to us. Thus this `Hiroshima Day’ in Bangladesh is significant for our long-standing friendship and partnership."
As humanitarian crises and pandemics spread across national borders, it seems that it is becoming more and more essential to share thoughts about peace and human tragedies and to show solidarity across our global community.
The Ambassador said, "Today, I reverently express my sincere condolences to the souls of the great number of atomic bomb victims. It is inscribed on the monument for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima that “Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil.”
The tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki must never be repeated, he said.
Read: Japan to grab any opportunity to resolve Rohingya crisis for regional stability
As the only country that has experienced the horror of nuclear weapons, Japan has the mission to work closely with other countries and citizens toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons.
"It has been 76 years since the atomic bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the number of survivors is getting fewer each year, it is all the more critical for us to remember the tragedies and inhumanity of using nuclear weapons, and pass the lessons we have learned on to future generations beyond borders," he said.
Major General (Retd) Mohaiemen - surgeon, teacher, patriot passes away
Major General(retd) Dr MA Mohaiemen, who had played a pioneering role as a military cardiothoracic surgeon of East Pakistan and independent Bangladesh, passed away on August 3 at the age of 85.
Dr Mohaiemen, one of a few officers to have taken part in both the 1965 and 1971 wars, breathed his last at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka where he was being treated for old-age complications.
Read: Cumilla-7 MP Prof Ali Ashraf passes away
“At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by his former students and colleagues at the CMH, and I was with him for all the final hours,” said his son Naeem Mohaiemen.
He was buried at Banani Military Graveyard on August 3 through a full military funeral and Guard of Honour.
Born in Bagura district in 1936, Dr Mohaiemen started his professional life in 1960 joining the Pakistan Army as a military surgeon.
Read: Senior photojournalist Lutfur Rahman Binu passes away
From 1971-1973, he was one of hundreds of Bengali army officers imprisoned in prison camps in West Pakistan, released only after the 1973 Simla Accord.
Dr Mohaiemen served four years in Libya representing Bangladesh Armed Forces.
At the CMH, he introduced laparoscopic surgery, advanced neurosurgery, endoscopic joint surgery, advanced microscopic methods of ENT surgery, and phaco surgery for cataracts.
Read: Senior journalist Ruhul Quddus no more
After retirement from the army in 1995 as Consultant Surgeon General at Maj Gen rank, Dr Mohaiemen dedicated himself to teaching surgery in different medical colleges like Jahurul Islam Medical College, Bajitpur (1996-2010), and Armed Forces Medical College, Dhaka (2010-2020).
He is survived by wife Nilufer Mohaiemen, two sons Zayed Mohaiemen and Naeem Mohaiemen, and many friends and families.
Bangladesh ready to kick off massive vaccination drive Saturday: DGHS DG
With a fresh stock of vaccine doses on hand, Bangladesh is set to gear up the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive to take it to the next level as it aims to inoculate 80% of its population with each person getting two doses administered.
Addressing a press briefing at BCPS auditorium on Friday, Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr ABM Khurshid Alam said they are ready to accelerate the drive across the country on Saturday.
Read: Bangladesh to receive 34 lakh Sinopharm vaccine doses next week: FM
He said those above 25 years of age will be vaccinated, giving priority to senior people and women and physically-challenged ones.
Initially, he said, 35 lakh people will be vaccinated and those living in inaccessible remote areas will also be brought under the drive.
With 32,706 vaccinators and 48,459 volunteers ready, the government has planned to administer jabs simultaneously in 4,600 unions, 1,054 municipality areas, and in 433 wards of the city corporations, said Khurshid Alam.
Campaign timeline and areas:
On August 7, the vaccination campaign will kick off in all union, municipality and city corporation areas.
During August 8-9, vaccine jabs will be administered in the excluded wards of unions and municipal areas where already the campaign was underway.
During August 10-12, Covid jabs will be administered among Rohingya citizens over 55 years old.
Read:AL rank and file directed to mount campaign in favour of vaccination drive
40 long-route buses seized in Gazipur
Highway police have seized as many as 40 long-route buses for ferrying passengers on the Dhaka-Tangail highway of Gazipur in violation of lockdown restrictions.
Cops raided the Chandra area of the Dhaka-Tangail highway and its vicinity on Thursday night on a tip-off that long-distance buses were transporting passengers at three to four times the original fares, defying the Covid lockdown norms.
Read: Bustling Dhaka finally feels ‘lockdown silence’
Mir Golam Faruk, officer-in-charge of Konabari Highway police station, said that his men keep a strict vigil on the roads to curb the unnecessary movement of vehicles and people during the day.
"However, after dark, taking advantage of marginal relaxations, long-distance buses attempt to enter the city from North Bengal," he said.
Read: Suspension of long-haul bus services makes people’s journeys arduous
Though the buses were compounded and kept on the side of the highway in Konabari and Chandra areas, the OC said that their passengers had been let off with a warning. "We will take legal action against the violators."
15 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
Fifteen more people have died of Covid-19 at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Friday morning.
Five of them died of Covid-19, while eight died with symptoms of the virus and the remaining three due to post-corona complications, said hospital director Brigadier General Shamim Yazdani.
Read: Rajshahi sees 17 more Covid deaths in 24 hrs
Of the deceased, eight were from Rajshahi district, two each from Natore and Pabna, and one each from Chapainawabganj, Naogaon and Kushtia districts.
Besides, 47 people have been admitted to the corona unit of the hospital in the past 24 hours. On the other hand, some 34 people were discharged from the hospital after recovery during the period.
Read:21 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
Currently, 403 patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital which has 513 beds. Of them, 19 are being treated in the ICU, said the hospital director.
Of the admitted patients, 182 have tested positive for Covid-19, while 142 are with symptoms and 79 have post-Covid health complications.
Covid claims 36 more lives in Khulna division
Khulna division has logged 36 new Covid-related deaths in 24 hours till Friday morning, as the Delta variant of the deadly coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the country.
According to the health director's office, 10 people died in Kushtia district, nine in Khulna, six in Jhenaidah, five in Jashore, four in Meherpur, and one each in Narail and Bagerhat districts.
With the fresh figures, the total fatalities in the division have now reached 2,590, officials said.
Also read: Covid claims 28 more lives in Barishal
Besides, some 761 new Covid infections have been detected in 10 districts of the division in the past 24 hours, pushing up the total cases to 98,454.
On Thursday, 36 people died of Covid-19 in the division, while 817 people were found infected with the virus during the period.
In Khulna division, the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Chuadanga on March 19, 2020.
Also read: 15 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
So far, 76,354 people have been recovered from Covid in the division.
No alternative to building field hospitals to save lives: GM Quader
As Covid cases continue to surge in Bangladesh, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Friday said there is no alternative to setting up field hospitals to save the lives of the virus-infected people.
In a statement, he said it has become urgent to construct field hospitals for Covid treatment in the areas where the virus transmission is very high. “Since the outbreak of corona is not waning, there’s no alternative to building the field hospitals at this moment to save the lives of the country’s people.”
Read: Govt losing trust with ministers’ ‘funny’ remarks: GM Quader
If necessary, the Jatiya Party chief said, members of Bangladesh Army can be given the responsibility to build field hospitals.
He said the Delta variant has spread to remote areas. “Gradually, the entire country has become a hotspot for corona. Already, about 90 percent of beds in Covid dedicated hospitals are now packed and ICU beds are occupied in most hospitals.”
Referring to Health Minister Zahid Maleque’s comment that the government is thinking of renting hotels for providing treatment to Covid patients with mild complications, GM Quader said setting up field hospitals is relatively more convenient and less risky for the treatment of the highly contagious coronavirus.
Read: Mass vaccination only solution to Covid crisis: GM Quader
“China, Thailand and Indonesia have already had successes in corona treatment by building field hospitals to deal with corona,” he observed.
The Jatiya Party chairman said the members of Bangladesh Army’s engineering corps build field hospitals hurriedly during various military exercises every year. “They’ve a great experience in building field hospitals. The country will benefit only if the Bangladesh Army is given the responsibility to build field hospitals.”
Read:GM Quader demands probe into vaccine, Covid test costs
For the past few weeks, Bangladesh has been experiencing the worst coronavirus wave spurred by the highly transmittable Delta variant which was first identified in India.
According to a survey by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), 98 percent of the Covid patients recently detected in Bangladesh are of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Foreign Minister condoles Monjur's death
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has condoled the death of Monjur Ahmed Chowdhury.
Chowdhury, a friend of former Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, passed away at the age of 87 on Thursday in the US, where he had been staying with his sons for many years.
Read: FM mourns loss of lives in Turkey wildfires
"He was a big donor, who had been financially supporting Khurram College in Sylhet for years," said Dr Momen.
Chowdhury was the son-in-law of late Maulvi Abdul Matin Chowdhury, a journalist, a Muslim League leader, and an MLA from Assam (now in India) during the British Raj who had tried to convince Md Ali Jinnah to include Assam in Pakistan, he said.
Covid claims 28 more lives in Barishal
As many as 28 more people have died of Covid-19 in Barishal division in the past 24 hours, officials said on Friday.
Of them, 14 were Covid-positive patients while the remaining had symptoms of the virus.
Read:Barishal logs 32 new Covid deaths
Besides, some 624 new cases were detected during the period, said divisional health director Basudeb Kumar Das.
The fresh cases have taken the division’s death tally to 528 and the caseload to 37,622.
Of the recent Covid fatalities, 16 people died at Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital while others passed away in district and upazila health complexes, said Basudeb.
Currently, 280 Covid patients are undergoing treatment at the 300-bed Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital. Meanwhile, 36 new Covid patients have been admitted to the hospital’s Covid unit in the past 24 hours, the officials said.
Read: Barishal sanctions separate Covid unit for pregnant women
So far, 336 people have died of Covid-19 and 845 with symptoms at the hospital.
On the other hand, 20,489 people have recovered from Covid in the division to date.